8 research outputs found
Near-Limb Zeeman and Hanle Diagnostics
"Weak" magnetic-field diagnostics in faint objects near the bright solar disk
are discussed in terms of the level of non-object signatures, in particular, of
the stray light in telescopes. Calculated dependencies of the stray light
caused by diffraction at the 0.5-, 1.6-, and 4-meter entrance aperture are
presented. The requirements for micro-roughness of refractive and reflective
primary optics are compared. Several methods for reducing the stray light (the
Lyot coronagraphic technique, multiple stages of apodizing in the focal and
exit pupil planes, apodizing in the entrance aperture plane with a special
mask), and reducing the random and systematic errors are noted. An acceptable
level of stray light in telescopes is estimated for the V-profile recording
with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than three. Prospects for the limb
chromosphere magnetic measurements are indicated.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Damping mechanisms for oscillations in solar prominences
Small amplitude oscillations are a commonly observed feature in
prominences/filaments. These oscillations appear to be of local nature, are
associated to the fine structure of prominence plasmas, and simultaneous flows
and counterflows are also present. The existing observational evidence reveals
that small amplitude oscillations, after excited, are damped in short spatial
and temporal scales by some as yet not well determined physical mechanism(s).
Commonly, these oscillations have been interpreted in terms of linear
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves, and this paper reviews the theoretical damping
mechanisms that have been recently put forward in order to explain the observed
attenuation scales. These mechanisms include thermal effects, through
non-adiabatic processes, mass flows, resonant damping in non-uniform media, and
partial ionization effects. The relevance of each mechanism is assessed by
comparing the spatial and time scales produced by each of them with those
obtained from observations. Also, the application of the latest theoretical
results to perform prominence seismology is discussed, aiming to determine
physical parameters in prominence plasmas that are difficult to measure by
direct means.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figures, Space Science Reviews (accepted
Prominence seismology using small amplitude oscillations
Quiescent prominences are thin slabs of cold, dense plasma embedded in the
much hotter and rarer solar corona. Although their global shape is rather
irregular, they are often characterised by an internal structure consisting of
a large number of thin, parallel threads piled together. Prominences often
display periodic disturbances mostly observed in the Doppler displacement of
spectral lines and with an amplitude typically of the order of or smaller than
2--3 km s, a value which seems to be much smaller than the
characteristic speeds of the prominence plasma (namely the Alfv\'en and sound
velocities). Two particular features of these small amplitude prominence
oscillations is that they seem to damp in a few periods and that they seem not
to affect the whole prominence structure. In addition, in high spatial
resolution observations, in which threads can be discerned, small amplitude
oscillations appear to be clearly associated to these fine structure
constituents. Prominence seismology tries to bring together the results from
these observations (e.g. periods, wavelengths, damping times) and their
theoretical modeling (by means of the magnetohydrodynamic theory) to gain
insight into physical properties of prominences that cannot be derived from
direct observation. In this paper we discuss works that have not been described
in previous reviews, namely the first seismological application to solar
prominences and theoretical advances on the attenuation of prominence
oscillations
Present and Future Observing Trends in Atmospheric Magnetoseismology
With modern imaging and spectral instruments observing in the visible, EUV, X-ray, and radio wavelengths, the detection of oscillations in the solar outer atmosphere has become a routine event. These oscillations are considered to be the signatures of a wave phenomenon and are generally interpreted in terms of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves. With multiwavelength observations from ground- and space-based instruments, it has been possible to detect waves in a number of different wavelengths simultaneously and, consequently, to study their propagation properties. Observed MHD waves propagating from the lower solar atmosphere into the higher regions of the magnetized corona have the potential to provide excellent insight into the physical processes at work at the coupling point between these different regions of the Sun. High-resolution wave observations combined with forward MHD modeling can give an unprecedented insight into the connectivity of the magnetized solar atmosphere, which further provides us with a realistic chance to reconstruct the structure of the magnetic field in the solar atmosphere. This type of solar exploration has been termed atmospheric magnetoseismology. In this review we will summarize some new trends in the observational study of waves and oscillations, discussing their origin and their propagation through the atmosphere. In particular, we will focus on waves and oscillations in open magnetic structures ( e.g., solar plumes) and closed magnetic structures ( e.g., loops and prominences), where there have been a number of observational highlights in the past few years. Furthermore, we will address observations of waves in filament fibrils allied with a better characterization of their propagating and damping properties, the detection of prominence oscillations in UV lines, and the renewed interest in large-amplitude, quickly attenuated, prominence oscillations, caused by flare or explosive phenomena